How happy and proud we feel, when we hear, read or watch the tales about the struggle to liberate a nation, a struggle that began 25 years ago! It is with a sense of greatness and pride to remember and to know that in our midst, we have heroes, either fallen or alive, who dreamt of their country of origin, and made it their mission to go back, staking blood and braving excruciatingly cold nights away from their families, to see them back together, in a country they were to rebuild, with a greater denial of the refugee status. The heroes were either born in the refugee camps or had fled in their tender age. Being men and women of honour, with relatively less chances of education and access to decent living, they gave way to their imagination and knew they could not get anywhere with the limitations that come with one being a refugee. And we have seen that. The main reason for the armed struggle that started in 1994 was having the refugees back in the country. Some who went, with babies strapped on their backs, more than three decades before, came back grandparents. From one generation to another, the same kids who went out of the country strapped on the backs of their mothers came back as heroes, history being made, only by believing and achieving. That, some believed and never saw, some others have seen it and are living it. Rwanda has become the dream land for many, and the transformation is still counting. The flame of their ideas, the light of their dreams don’t allow the current generation to either sleep or ever think that the fathers of our liberation will always be there to fight against our foes or any other threat. Some of us being kids that entered the country by July 4 1994, it means literally that this generation has been offered a whole new life and chance experiencing something that the parents never received, either in terms of rights or luck. And that means everything, from the simple fact of having a country. It is high time, the current generation got up and seized the destiny of the country, and in the same sense, develop a political conscience that all does not come on a silver platter, and that the struggle of defining who we want to be started years ago and that the journey is to be kept. Being either fearful or reluctant to get involved, is creating a gap in the future, in terms of potential leaders. A leader is not born but shaped. Trust the country needs fresh blood, reliable and ready to act, young people to carry on the struggle. The foes are all-around, none can be trusted, even so-called allies can wake up and arrest an innocent liberation struggle hero. Tomorrow is not assured if there is no inspiration today. Our days are being inspired by the people we see, who saw both abroad and home, with different statutes but had a struggle to quit one to the other. Good enough they can still be seen. They can still mentor and inspire changes. Sleeping and thinking thant our living heroes will still be alive in our days of old is naive and erroneous. Discussion will come but today’s struggle is to develop. Agreed. But, what is development without the politics behind, most especially the same successful policies that have made us who we are, including becoming one of the first countries on the continent where doing business is so easy? Where people can safely travel at night, something rare in the region? Where we were before, we overcame. To get to where we want to be, it will take the same determination. It is time now. Ubi Bene, Ibi Patria
